Many of us, as parents of spectrum kids, participate in "autism walks" or other events to raise money for autism research. But we don't volunteer anywhere near the same capacity for entities that directly impact our children -- our kids' schools or service agencies. Why?

The DSM-5 autism group has been blinded by an intellectual conflict of interest. Eager to introduce its concept of an autism spectrum, the group lost sight of a crucial and obvious fact: Its proposed criteria set is written so exclusively that it must inevitably reduce the diagnosis of autism.

In the DSM-5, we propose a new way of looking at these disorders, merging them into a single diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. We believe this will create more accurate diagnoses and improved access to services. It should also improve research into ASD.